The present invention concerns a metal ball bat and more particularly to a knob for a metal ball bat.
Ball bats originally used in the game of baseball were made from wood, typically hickory. These early hickory ball bats were relatively heavy, weighing as much as 42 ounces, and had relatively narrow barrels, which is the hitting portion of the bat. For a variety of reasons, ball bats are generally no longer made from hickory. Modern wood bats are made from Northern white ash, which is strong but less dense than hickory. Modern wood ball bats have a larger barrel yet weigh less than hickory bats.
Despite the advancements in wood ball bat technology over the years, the use of wood ball bats in the games of baseball and softball has declined sharply in recent years. At the present time, wood ball bats are generally used only in professional baseball leagues that have rules requiring their use. Most modern ball bats are constructed of metal.
W. A. Shroyer, Jr. is generally credited with inventing the first all-metal ball bat. See U.S. Pat. No. 1,499,128. Although there were many advancements in metal ball bat technology in the following years, metal ball bats were not widely used until the mid-1970""s, when several manufacturers began selling ball bats made of aluminum alloys. These early aluminum ball bats were lighter and stronger than wood ball bats, but had a tendency to dent easily. Modern metal ball bats are manufactured from exotic alloys that are stronger and lighter than the aluminum alloys first used to construct ball bats in the 1970""s. Metal ball bats of this type are used in youth baseball leagues to the collegiate ranks, and in both amateur and professional softball leagues.
There have been a number of advancements in metal ball bat technology in recent years. Not surprisingly, most of these advancements have related directly or indirectly to the barrel portion of the bat. For example, Pitsenberger, U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,828, discloses a ball bat having an exterior shell disposed about the barrel portion of the bat. Eggiman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,823, discloses a ball bat having a performance enhancing sleeve inserted in the barrel portion of the bat. And, a number of patents disclose a variety of end caps that are inserted into the end of the barrel of the bat to prevent permanent deformation of the end of the barrel of the bat due to contact with a ball. See, e.g., Eggiman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,602, and MacKay, Jr., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,421,572, 5,785,614, 5,785,617, and 5,931,750. Despite the recent advancements in metal ball bat technology, there remains substantial room for improvement.
The present invention concerns a metal ball bat, and more particularly a knob for a metal ball bat. A metal ball bat according to the invention comprises an elongated tubular metal body having a barrel portion at one end and a handle portion at an opposite end. The handle portion terminates a knob that comprises a metal collar that extends from the handle portion and a plug that is retained in an opening in the collar. Preferably, the opening in the collar is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the elongated tubular metal body and has a diameter that is greater than the diameter of the handle portion. The plug is preferably retained in the opening by means of a snap-fit connection between an edge that defines the opening in the collar and a groove in the plug. Alternatively, the plug is retained in the opening in the collar by means of a bayonet coupling between the plug and the collar. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the plug further comprises a stem portion that fits into a cavity in the handle portion when the plug is retained in the opening in the collar. The stem portion can further comprise one or more weights for adjusting the swing characteristics of said ball bat. Preferably, the plug is formed of a polymeric material such as thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer and the collar is formed of formed from an aluminum alloy such as 5052-H32 aluminum alloy. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the plug has an exposed surface that projects substantially beyond the plane of the opening in the collar to provide an extended gripping surface when the plug is retained in the opening of the collar.